LeBron James and the Miami Heat beat Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games in the 2012 NBA Finals. The series showcased the league's two best players, James and Durant, and the stirred excitement among fans of the league. Nike, Inc. (NKE) sponsors both James and Durant, with both players receiving compensation believed to be over $10 million annually from their shoe contracts. Nike plays a massive role in sponsoring not only basketball stars, but athletes across all sports- including soccer, football, and popular Olympic sports such as track and swimming.

Nike, of course, is the best athlete-branding company in the athletic apparel industry by some distance. The Company's dominance began in the 1990's with Michael Jordan, turning the basketball star into a global icon. More importantly for Nike, Air Jordans are still among the Company's most popular brands, and Jordan, whose last championship was

Introduction: In February 2011, US treasury bonds started to rise and by July Uncle Sam's debt was being catapulted to new highs. Bonds prices were influenced by a Fed buying spree as well as the hordes of scared investors who sought "risk free" returns. However, with treasuries selling high above par these market-fearers are only buying into what the prominent contrarian investor Marc Faber recently called "the biggest bubble ever". Much like how prices rose and dropped in 2008/2009 and again in 2010, there is evidence that treasuries are close to falling once more.

The Evidence: In the past year, the iShares Barclays 20+ Yr Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) has risen +30%, hitting a high of $130 on June 1, 2012. During the 2008 crash, the ETF only hit levels of $122, below today's apparent floor of $125. TLT's 5 year graph clearly indicates the extent of

Ahead of Greek elections on June 17th, we believe European markets will continue to tumble based on justified fear and a lack of central European leadership.

Eurozone economies, the majority of which are forecast for growth in 2013, have been slowing significantly in 2012. The PIIGS bloc continues to lead the growth slowdown, with Greece and Spain the only Eurozone countries forecast to have negative growth in 2013 by the executive arm of the European Union.

Past Elections

European voters have repeatedly punished incumbent governments and rewarded government promising change over the past year. Investors, on the other hand, have shown little faith in the new government's ability to turn around the economy.

• French elections, May 2012

  • Hollande won on promises of changing the status quo
  • Impracticality of socialist policies not an obstacle in his election
  • Hollande now stands as an obstacle against German austerity policies
  • Result: the iShares MSCI